Chapter 6
Chapter Six
Autumn curled down into Boreus’ arms and tried not to think about it.
Tried not to think about Auster and his flat eyes glaring at her.
Tried not to contrast the way he’d looked at her today with the way he’d looked at her in the past. There had been no love there today, only a thinly disguised rage and no little bit of disgust.
It wasn’t the most painful thing she had ever experienced, but it was close. If she could give him Eleni back she would, but there was too much riding on the braid between her and Eleni. There was too much that depended on them now for her to sacrifice herself that way.
The Song, Boreus, Solace.
They needed her, or at least the Song and Solace did. Boreus could probably make his own way after a time; maybe they could find their way together.
Or maybe he just needed more time to come to terms with them. Autumn could hope for that, but the truth of the matter was that he would likely never come around to the way it had actually been.
Eleni had known Auster well, beyond the others, and she knew precisely how stubborn he was. Since she knew, so did Autumn, and that was why she knew that this was going to go precisely nowhere until she could contrive a way for Eleni to speak to Auster.
But that would mean reversing their ascendancy, and she wasn’t even sure if that was a possibility, let alone if the reversing was reversible. Or a good idea, which it almost certainly wasn’t.
She would ask Chaos; he would know, even if he wasn’t able to explain it well.
Autumn wiggled out of Boreus’ arms and went to the bathing room; it was nearing dawn and for another night she hadn’t slept. She wasn’t going to waste time feeling sorry for herself. If the only way they saved Skirion was for them all to work together, then that was what she was going to do.
Solace was waiting for her in the bathing room, waiting for his morning swim, and no matter how sad she was, that sight always made her smile.
They swam together, she and Solace, and as she was going to get out and dry them off, Boreus joined them. “Did you not sleep again, love?”
“I tried,” she shook her head. “I was trying to come up with a plan to rotate our ascendancy so Auster could see Eleni. But I don’t know if it’s even possible, or a good idea, given that if she takes this body back over, she won’t be able to breathe the air.”
“What do you mean?” Boreus looked confused.
“I mean that the only reason she survived her return to the Mountain was because I was braided with her ascendant.”
“Wouldn’t it be the same thing now?” Boreus asked.
“I don’t know,” Autumn said, shrugging. “Best case, yes, and then we turn again and all is back to normal. Worst case, the braid is torn, and Eleni is left ascendant in a body she cannot use any longer.”
“Do not risk it, love.” Boreus reached for her. “We will find another way.”
“There may not be another way.” Autumn cuddled down into his arms. “If we want to prove to him that Eleni is safe, and that she agreed to braid with me, I may have to find a way.”
“If it comes to that, we will take it to the Highest,” Boreus held her tightly. “They will know how to ensure that what we do is safe.”
“The other option is to let him into my head.” Autumn said. “To let him see the history directly, but I—” she swallowed. “It’s selfish, but he hates me, Boreus, and I don’t think I can handle that in my mind.”
“So don’t,” Boreus said calmly. “When we see him today, we will discuss it, and if needed, I will punch his teeth in until he listens to me.”
“You were always combative with him.”
“It’s how we show love.” Boreus chuckled, squeezing her slightly. “I whack him for being an idiot, and he smacks me for being bloody-minded.”
They got out of the bath, dried themselves and Solace, and headed out of the Bastion. Love was waiting for them at the door and carved the air to allow them to step through to the villa.
There was no sign of Auster for a moment, and then he walked out of the villa and headed straight for her. There was no sword on his hip, and before Autumn could do more than back into Boreus’ chest, he was on his knees at her feet.
“East Wind?”
He looked up at her. “I said I would try, but I have not tried in good faith.” He reached for her hand. “I would ask for forgiveness and another opportunity.”
“It has only been a short time,” Autumn tried to calm her racing heart. “We have only barely begun. I know you don’t trust me, and that is your right. I only wish we might approach each other with honesty.”
“I will try,” Auster rose, still holding her hand.
“Would you like to walk with us?” Boreus asked quietly. “We could walk the slope and you could begin to re-familiarize yourself with the Mountain.”
Auster nodded, shifting his attention to Boreus. “I would like to see where you will make your home again.”
They left the grove and the villa behind, back into the sun on the slope where Solace was waiting to frisk to Autumn’s side and trill at her.
“What have you found?” Autumn asked the fox, giving Auster a tiny smile. “He brings me things that he finds interesting. This is Solace.”
Solace wrapped his tail around Autumn’s wrist and tugged her away, down to a small pool that glittered in the sun. It was right off a tiny streamlet, and the fox stuck his face all the way into the water.
Autumn giggled, peering down through the water to see the tadpoles that Solace was so excited about. “Those are called tadpoles, Solace, that’s where frogs come from.”
The fox yipped, frisking around them excitedly, pulling a giggle from Autumn. “Have you found anything else exciting, Solace?”
Solace nosed around in the grass, his tail still around Autumn’s wrist, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw Boreus and Auster watching them. Boreus’ eyes were full of love, and Auster just looked confused. But he wasn’t looking at her like he wanted her dead, so that was progress.
They wandered the slope, eventually making their way back to the rise over the spring as the sun was beginning to set. The rise faced the west, and they all watched the sun fade over the horizon without speaking.
Autumn heard the Song, the quiet sprinkle of notes, and moved to sing back. Telling the Song goodnight, that they would start living nearby as soon as they had saved Skirion.
As the moon was rising, they took Auster back to the villa, and then returned to the rise, where they danced in the moonlight until they went back to the Bastion. And for the first night since they had brought Auster back, Autumn slept.